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崇拜 (chóng bài) — to worship, to adore

Definition

崇拜 is a strong, often quasi-religious 'worship, idolize' — stronger than 热爱 (deep love) and 崇敬 (quiet reverence). It often targets a person or ideal one treats as superior.

verb
to worshipto adore

Examples

  • 崇拜。
    Tā men fēi cháng chóng bài nà wèi yīng xióng.
    They greatly admire that hero.
  • 崇拜。
    Tā cóng xiǎo chóng bài zì jǐ de lǎo shī.
    She has adored her teacher since childhood.
  • 崇拜。
    Hěn duō rén chóng bài quán lì hé cái fù.
    Many people worship power and wealth.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

崇chóngrespect
拜bàibow

“崇” conveys high respect, and “拜” conveys bowing or paying homage, forming worship.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
宗
宗zōng崇
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

崇 is built from 山 (mountain) on top and 宗 below; the mountain shows the idea, while 宗 gives the sound.

Open 崇 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

拜 combines 扌 (hand, written fully as 手) with 𠦪 (herbs), showing a hand holding herbs as a gift.

Open 拜 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & FeelingsReligion & Belief5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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